Libraries

William & Mary’s extensive library system is the collective brain of the university. Within its million–plus books and hundreds of thousands of periodicals, journals and electronic databases, you can find the sum total of human knowledge. It’s like the Internet, without all of the made up stuff.

Swem Library was renovated in 2005. It is regularly ranked within the top ten best college libraries by Princeton Review, and was recently named one of the most social media friendly college libraries in the nation by Library Science List. It is the main library on campus, staffed by ridiculously knowledgeable and helpful librarians who will even answer queries by instant message. Find the information you need in Swem’s print and electronic collections. Check out free laptops, iPads and DVDs, or work with your friends in one of the many group study rooms. Make your own digital masterpiece in their state-of-the-art Media Center. Discover the past in the manuscripts and archives of Swem’s Special Collections Research Center.

Swem has Summon, an online research tool that allows you to search dozens of popular electronic databases at once. Most allow you to view full-text books, journals and articles, even from the comfort of your room. But you might want to go to Swem anyway. The Greenberry's coffee and gourmet pastries and sandwiches at Mews Café—Swem’s own coffee shop—is worth the trip alone. And Swem is THE place on campus to study late into the night.

Each of William & Mary’s nationally ranked graduate and professional schools has its own library with specially trained staff. The Law Library—the oldest in America—is home to the historic Thomas Jefferson Collection, as well as primary and secondary source materials covering the entire breadth of Anglo-American law. The McLeod Business Library, located on the second floor of the stunning Alan B. Miller Hall, offers the latest online tools like Bloomberg, journals and videos for studying real-world business practices. The William J. Hargis, Jr. Library at VIMS holds the ever-expanding collection of marine science reports, studies, theses and scholarly papers produced by VIMS staff and students. And the Learning Resource Center re-located to its new home in the cutting-edge School of Education building in 2010.